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The Health | january, 2019
2019 budget
2019 Budget
for healthcare
aims for impact
T
he Ministry of Health
receives RM29 billion alloca-
tion for 2019 Budget, looking
for better healthcare among
low-income Malaysians
Healthcare is a thing each
and every one of us literally
can’t live without. From taking care of our-
selves through proper diet and exercise, to
getting medication for an infection – we will
always need a certain form of healthcare to
live. Therefore for us to have obstructions
to receive healthcare, barriers blocking us
from ridding ourselves from diseases, can
be heartbreaking.
We all know that treatment for chronic
diseases are tremendously expensive, and
many of us suffer from finding the means
to get treated. The hopes of making things
a little less difficult for Malaysians has been
initiated recently through 2019 Budget’s
record-breaking budget allocation and
initiatives for the healthcare sector.
The National B40 Health Protection
Fund is proposed to help people from
low-income group (in and out of the city)
to receive treatment easier and much less
expensive. The initiative is certainly an
impactful one for many Malaysians suc-
cumbing to certain diseases. Will it be as
effective as it aims to be? We certainly hope
so. – The Health
Positive steps
in transforming
Malaysian
healthcare
T
he Galen Center for Health and
Social Policy was one of the first
to lend their take on the newly
imposed initiatives by the Ministry
of Health. The current government
received applause by Galen Center for
ensuring the commitment for healthcare
has been upheld and improved.
The people of the low-income group,
also known as B40, were especially
focused on by the National B40 Health
Protection Fund. It is said to ensure pre-
paredness and resilience in responding
to ongoing and future health challenges,
particularly for non-communicable
diseases (NCDs).
However, there has been a number
of concerns on the proposed healthcare
fund, primarily on the financial sustain-
ability of it all.
Commenting on the recent 2019
Budget tabling, Azrul Mohd Khalib,
CEO of Galen Center for Health and
Social Policy said, “It is a welcoming
news that in their very first budget,
the new government has continued the
previous government’s commitment
of incrementally increasing the alloca-
tion for health. This is the highest ever
allocation, at RM29 billion. It is an
increase of 7.8% compared to this year
and making up almost 10% of the overall
budget.”
“The government took the first posi-
tive step today in investing and aiming
to transform Malaysian healthcare from
a sickness service to a health and well-
being service,” he continued.
Sugar tax and other
heartening initiatives
Azrul also said that some of the initia-
tives announced at the tabling came as a
surprise, and that it is heartening to note
that the government has taken up on
their recommendation to impose a sugar
tax or excise duties on sugar sweetened
beverages at the manufacturing stage.
“This will have the intended result
of manufacturers taking initiative and
being incentivized to reduce the sugar
content in their products to avoid being
taxed.”
Having said that, Azrul also men-
tioned that a sugar tax alone will not
solve the obesity crisis.
“The revenue collected by the imposed
tax should go directly to funding public
health programs designed to deal with
NCDs such as diabetes and cancer. Ear-
marking this revenue for this purpose
would help strengthen the effectiveness
and sustainability of current health
literacy and NCD prevention programs,
particularly as there has been a reduction
in the allocation for health education.”
Bigger allocation
means better healthcare
Azrul explained that the increase of
allocation for the supply of drugs,
“The government
took the first
positive step
today in
investing
and aiming
to transform
Malaysian
healthcare from a
sickness service
to a health and
well-being
service.”
– Azrul Mohd Khalib
consumables, vaccines and reagents is
certainly good news for patients. “In the
past, insufficient funds have resulted in
shortages of essential drugs needed to
treat diseases, particularly NCDs such
as hypertension, heart disease, and
diabetes.”
“These shortages affected those
most vulnerable such as senior citizens,
pensioners, and these in the B40 and
M40 households who can afford no
other choice and depend solely on public
healthcare for treatment,” he elaborated.
2019 Budget had also announced
a nationwide health screening pilot
program aimed at almost a million
individuals aged 50 and above in B40
households, as well as the different
screening initiatives targeted to women.
“These initiatives are certainly wel-
comed, but will face significant known
challenges, particularly linking individu-
als to diagnosis and treatment.” “There
must be investment in interventions
which address this problem,” warned
Azrul.